Different
by She-Who-Dances-With-The-Stars
Summary: A few events as a young girl led Usagi to being different to how she would have been normally. She cries less, and is more confident in herself, with a few minor changes in her outlook on life. OOC Usagi/Serena/Sailor Moon. Goes through entire series.
1. Prologue

AN: I know, I haven't done much on my other story, Myosotis Redux. I kind of have a half thought out plotline for that, and maybe one day I'll continue it, but for now I shall focus on this one. Also, since I last uploaded anything I have graduated high school, moved out of home and into a house with an awesome friend of mine, joined a metal weapons medieval re-enactment group (meaning we actually use live – though blunted – swords, axes, daggers and pole arms). I have finished Portal 2 – loved it. I listened to the official soundtrack while writing this. There's some cool songs in it. And I have a boyfriend. Yay!

Here is something new I thought of while re-watching the original sailor moon episodes from waaaaaaay back before I was born (though really it was only a year beforehand). My reasons for the changes will be explained if you ask, otherwise just enjoy the story.

And please, do not flame me. Though I must say, it's almost winter where I am, and I have a lovely little device called a fireplace…

The title is subject to change. I don't like it, but it's the best I could come up with at the present time. If you have a better suggestion, it is extremely welcome! Thank you.

_Disclaimer: Naoko Takeuchi owns Sailor Moon, not me._

* * *

_Different_

_Prologue_

The first time Usagi was determined to stop crying for good, she was eight – the school year had just started, and the children were teasing her again. But this time they'd discovered a new way to tease her – her tears. It was a sunny, warm, and decidedly orange late spring day, near the end of the first trimester. It was the last lesson of the day – sport – and the teacher had left to get some balls to play soccer with.

The children took that as their opportunity. With large grins that she would say looked positively evil, they started chanting the children's song 'I'm a Little Teapot'. However, this one went a little differently.

"_My name's Usagi, hear me cry,_

_Nobody likes me, 'cause I cry a lot,_

_When I get all upset, hear me cry!_

_Like a baby, wah, wah, wah!"_

She ran from the children and the cruel words, hiding behind the toilets to cry. She stayed there for the rest of the afternoon, only coming out once the bell had rung. Her teacher looked at her puffy red eyes and salty face, smeared with dirt from where she had been sitting, and the dust covering the back of her dress, and tutted with pitying eyes and a damp rag to clean her up a bit before sending her home.

When Usagi got home that afternoon, she decided she would not cry anymore because of their mean words or actions. Instead, she taught herself to laugh.

The children stopped teasing her so much after they realised that she wasn't affected the same way. But she kept up the habit, just in case.

* * *

The first time Usagi dyed her hair, she was thirteen, halfway through grade seven – her first year of Junior High. The science curriculum had been genetics, which led to the revelation that somehow she had been failed. Over the course of the subject, she had researched her parents' families and their genetics, and there was no case of blonde hair anywhere. There had been browns and blacks, as well as the blue of her mother and she had a many times great grandmother who'd had green hair, but no blonde.

And so she had found herself sitting in front of a mirror, staring at her long blonde tresses in anxiety, many thoughts running through her head. Was her dad her real dad? Was her mum her real mum? Was she adopted? Was Shingo really her brother?

She stared long and hard at herself, trying to see if there was anything else to say she didn't belong in the Tsukino family, but it was only her hair, done up in her now signature buns-and-streamers which almost reached her knees. She was average height, had started developing a little earlier than most girls her age – but so had her mum apparently – and thin with fair skin and deep blue eyes like her mum.

Later that night, she saw an ad for hair dye on the television, and an idea started. She scrounged around the house, looking for loose change. She counted up all the money in her piggy bank, and saved all her allowance, forgoing her usual afternoon snacks on the way home. Her friend, Naru, worried, but said nothing.

Then at the end of the summer holidays, merely a week before she went back to school, she counted up her money and smiled proudly to herself. She had saved up enough to afford to go to a hairdresser.

The hairdresser commented on the unusual hairstyle and bemoaned the loss of such a beautiful colour, but Usagi didn't waiver. She chose a very dark brown – only a shade darker than her dad's hair – and sat in the chair for what felt like hours, until finally the hairdresser washed all the excess dye out. Her eyes sparkled in delight when the hairdresser showed her what she now looked like, with her hair blow-dried and brushed out, with a silver headband. She held up a photo of her parents in the mirror, and grinned at how she now looked like she belonged. Like she really was a Tsukino.

Her mother had been furious when she got home that afternoon, but she had ignored her anger and bounced towards her, enveloping her in a massive hug. "I love you, mum." She stated, effectively cutting off her mother's rant. Her mother had confusedly hugged her back, and she bounced her way up to her room.

"Usagi?" Her mother had called after her, as her dad appeared from the dining room, "Why did you dye your hair?"

Usagi had flashed a smile at her and left them with the simple but confusing statement; "There are no blondes in your families."

* * *

From there, things changed. The school had scolded Usagi for dying her hair, but they hadn't done much more as it was considered a 'natural' colour. She somehow found herself being more confident in herself. She was still late to school, but not as often. Her hair never went back into the buns-and-streamers style – the hairdresser's words of 'like dumplings' rung in her ears too much for that, and she instead played with new styles every couple of months, from one big plait to French braids to many small plaits which took forever to do, buns, up-dos, ponytails, pig-tails, teasing, and coifs. The only thing she never changed was the length and colour, which she taught herself how to redo her roots so it didn't cost as much.

She experimented with fashions, deciding that she liked the way silver glittered against her skin and dark clothing and make-up gave her a mysterious look, and the extra height she got from heels and platforms. She was eventually drawn to the emerging fashion in the world referred to as 'Goth', but never delved fully into it. She refused to get her ears pierced for Christmas, and gladly took up the self-defence classes her mother enrolled her in come January.

People started looking at her strange when she walked down the street, and she somehow got a reputation as a 'rebel' or 'dangerous' around school. Osaka Naru, Usagi's best friend, stayed by her side throughout it all, as well as Umino Gurio.

* * *

And so, Usagi Tsukino entered the eighth grade in early April, an almost completely different person to the Usagi Tsukino in what one would call 'The Canon Universe'.

This story begins anon.


	2. Chapter 1: Sailor Moon Emerges

AN: Here's chapter one, everybody! And thank you to Coot and Crystal for reviewing. :)

_Disclaimer: Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, not me._

* * *

_Different_

_Chapter One: Sailor Moon Emerges_

_She was flying high above the earth, among the clouds. The moon shone brilliantly above her as she drifted, condensation dampening the bottom of the long white dress she wore._

_"Princess," a voice from behind her started, and she slowly turned to face the speaker. She caught a glimpse of a black velvet cape lined with red satin fluttering in the wind, before a long blonde tress flew in her eyes, obscuring her view. She impatiently reached up to move it from her view when a loud, piercing siren sounded, and the moonlight scenery cracked before shattering like glass._

Usagi woke suddenly, her blue eyes snapping open in surprise as red and blue lights flashed above her head. She groaned and reached out with a blue-clad arm to hit the button on her alarm, shutting off the wailing siren and stopping the lights. Yawning, she threw back the pink doona covers and sat up, scratching her dark head sleepily.

Usagi Tsukino was a thirteen, almost fourteen-year-old girl starting her second year of Junior High at Juuban Municipal Junior High School, with long dark brown hair – though her original colour was blonde – and large blue eyes. She was a C-average student, barely passing in most subjects, and best friends with Naru Osaka and Gurio Umino.

Her room was at a halfway point between the peppy, brightly dressed girl she had been merely nine months ago to the slightly more sensible, darker-dressed girl she was becoming. There were numerous pictures of her with her friends and family with either blonde or dark brown hair, and posters covered the walls.

Usagi pushed back the covers and climbed out of bed, ignoring the messy sheets for now as she sat in front of her dresser and expertly put her hair in a loose French braid, which swung down around her knees. She tucked loose strands back with a silver headband and dressed in her uniform before heading downstairs for breakfast.

Her mother, Ikuko, looked up with a smile at Usagi as she set the table and served her father and brother who were already waiting. "Good morning, Usagi!"

"Morning mum, dad, brat!" She chirped with a wave, earning a glare and a raspberry from Shingo, her little brother. She blew one back to him and tucked herself into her seat, staring at the dishes placed in front of her hungrily. "Smells great, mum!"

"Thank you, Usagi." Ikuko kissed Kenji on the forehead as she passed and sat in her own seat. "Are you both looking forward to your first day of school?"

"Yes!"

"No." Usagi and Shingo both said at once. They glared at each other for a moment, before Usagi beamed again.

"I can't wait to see Naru again! She's so lucky, going on holidays for the break." Usagi sighed wistfully, and her parents chuckled.

"Oh! You two had better hurry to school, or you're going to be late!" Ikuko said, glancing at the clock. Kenji glanced up too and gasped.

"Oh, crap! I'm going to be late for work!" As one, the three of them rushed to the front door, shoving on their shoes and grabbing their lunches from Ikuko who waved them all off with a smile.

Usagi and Shingo parted at the front gate, and Usagi jogged quickly down the street before slowing down to a walk. Once she was certain she was out of sight of her parents she strolled along with her arms behind her head, her book bag hanging idly from one hand.

"Ah. I wish I could go back to sleep – that was a nice dream." She mumbled to herself, "I was a princess and everything." She hummed a soft lullaby she knew from somewhere and swirled around a few times dreamily, pretending she was dancing with the mysterious caped stranger from her dream. "Though it's funny my hair was blonde in the dream…"

She contemplated the phenomenon for a moment before yells and catcalls caught her attention, and she ran to the gate of a nearby parking lot. A small group of young boys were gathered around a small, black furry creature, poking it with sticks and jeering. She felt indignation well up, and charged forwards.

"Hey! What the hell do you brats think you're doing?" She yelled at them, shaking her fist. The boys glanced up at her in surprise and then fear, before dropping the sticks and running off, yelling in fear. She glared at them as they disappeared around the brick fence and turned back to the cat, which weakly got to its feet. "Oh, you poor thing."

She knelt down and pulled it closer, taking in the bandaids stuck to random parts of its body. The cat blinked up at her with rich brown eyes, and she gave it a gentle smile. "Here, let's get those bandaids off, huh?"

The bandaids came off easily, the cat's short fur providing little for them to stick to properly. The two across its forehead peeled back to reveal a bright yellow, crescent shaped bald spot which Usagi touched in curiosity for a second, before the cat suddenly jerked away from her hands and jumped up onto the roof of a nearby car. It stared at her for a moment, meeting Usagi's blue with its brown. It seemed to peer deeply into her soul for a moment, before the tolling of a clock broke Usagi from her trance. She glanced up at the clock and yelped at the time.

"Sorry kitty, gotta go!" She yelled over her shoulder as she took off at a run, barely making it to school before the gates shut.

Her teacher, Miss Haruno, looked at her with narrowed eyes, taking in her dark hair, big smile and breathlessness. "Miss Tsukino, you are late on the very first day of school. Go stand in the hallway!"

Usagi drooped in disappointment and trudged back out of the classroom, standing beside the door. _Oh well,_ she thought. _At least I had breakfast this morning._

* * *

"I can't believe you were late on the first day of school, Usagi!" Usagi winced under her friend's chastisement and pouted.

"But it wasn't my fault, Naru!" She exclaimed. "I had to rescue a cat from the clutches of evil elementary schoolers and then take off all the bandaids it had all over it, and then it engaged me in a staring contest! I would have won too, I bet!"

Naru sighed, rubbing her brow in concern over her friend's story. "Only you, Usagi."

Usagi grinned at her female best friend as her male one appeared. "Usagi!"

"Ah, Umino!" She waved at him happily, only for her grin to dim when he pulled out his test.

"What did you two get? I wasn't really trying this time, so I only got ninety-five percent." He boasted, and Usagi deflated, subconsciously fingering the folded piece of paper in her pocket. Naru showed him hers, which had a red seventy-two in one corner.

"I got seventy-two percent. What about you, Usagi?" They turned to her, and she pouted as she looked away.

"Thirty-seven." She muttered, and her friends sighed.

"Usagi, you have to study more. I remember one term last year, you studied really hard in science and got eighty-two. Why don't you study for this too?" Naru chastised, and Usagi waved her off nonchalantly.

"That was different." She stated bluntly. Naru rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah, my mum's store has been having a sale since yesterday too. Did you want to come over this afternoon and have a look? There's huge saving on everything, like diamonds and rubies and gold." Naru explained, her eyes shimmering at the thought of all the jewellery on sale. "Oh, I'd love a pair of ruby earrings."

Usagi perked up and gazed at the sky dreamily. "I'd love an emerald necklace." She gushed.

"A pearl bracelet!"

"A diamond ring!"

"A sapphire tiara! Like a real princess!" Both girls sighed dreamily at the thought, and wandered off, chattering excitedly about all the jewellery they'd love to own, leaving a confused and slightly scared Umino behind.

* * *

The jewellery store was packed to the brim when Naru and Usagi arrived later that afternoon, with Naru's mother energetically speaking into a microphone about the great savings available. Usagi and Naru stood in the doorway in surprise for a moment, watching the older redhead for a moment.

"She's awfully into it, isn't she?" Usagi asked, and Naru nodded in concern. Usagi noticed and tried to cheer her up. "But, maybe she's just inspired."

"Yeah, maybe."

They watched the throng of woman trying on jewels for a few minutes as Naru's mother spoke with each, recommending jewels and slashing the prices down to ridiculous amounts. Usagi furrowed her brow in confusion. _They're not liquidating or going broke, so why is she giving such huge discounts?_

"Mum!" Naru called, and the purple-clad woman froze for a moment before turning with a large smile.

"Naru! Hey, come over here and bring your friend – I'm sure I can do you girls a special deal." She beckoned, and Naru and Usagi shared a look before shrugging and struggling their way through the crowd and over to her. Once there she pulled out a small box and opened it to reveal a large diamond set in a gold ring. "Look – this ring would normally sell for five hundred thousand yen, but for you girls I'll drop it to thirty thousand."

Usagi's jaw dropped. "Thirty thousand!" She screeched, and everyone in the shop froze for a second before a stampede of women swamped the two girls, all vying to be the one who buys it. Naru and Usagi squeezed their way out of the throng, and the crowd spat them out in front of the doors. Usagi and Naru looked back at the front counter, where Naru's mother could barely be seen smiling widely at everyone.

"Five hundred thousand to thirty thousand! That's incredible!" Usagi whistled, and Naru nodded in agreement. "I'd buy it, but I'm saving up for a really cool pair of shoes I saw the other week, and I want some cake on the way home."

"Maybe your dad'll give you some money?" Naru suggested, but Usagi shook her head.

"Not with this mark." She said, pulling out her test results. Naru sighed in sympathy and patted her on the back consolingly. "Ah well, I'd best be off home."

She waved goodbye to Naru as she left and trudged home, staring at the red numbers gloomily. "Darn you, cursed school!" She yelled, stopping in the middle of the pathway and holding the paper up in the air.

"That's not very nice. What did school ever do to you?" A voice from behind her said, and she froze suddenly as a large presence leaned over her shoulder to read her mark better. "Thir-thirty-seven percent?"

"What's it to you?" She asked, whirling around. A rather tall man with dark hair stared down at her incredulously.

"You should study more if you ever want to be anything, shortie." He mocked, and she bristled at his comment.

"I am not short! You're just extra tall!" She yelled, and he laughed at her. "Besides, I plan on being plenty, jerk!"

"Plenty useless, maybe. Short." He retorted. She fumed and narrowed her eyes, before aiming a kick at his shin and running away, leaving him hopping in place. "Crazy girl!" He yelled after her, but she ignored him and ran all the way home.

Her mother was waiting just inside, a spatula in hand with a polite smile on her face that filled Usagi with dread. "I met Umino this afternoon, Usagi. Guess what he told me about a certain test that you had recently?"

"Uh…" She started nervously. "He got ninety-five percent?"

"Yes. And that you, my _darling_ daughter, only got thirty-seven. Not to mention that you were very late to school, on the first day of term no less, and somehow you have managed to get the reputation as a rebel and troublemaker." Ikuko paused for a moment, spinning the spatula idly in her hand and she stared down at Usagi with a forced smile. "Is this true?"

"Ah…" She laughed nervously, and inched her way around her mother slowly. "Well, you see, that is, uh…yes?"

She darted for the stairs, taking them two at a time as a fire ignited in her mothers eyes and her smile disappeared. "U-sa-gi! No dinner for you tonight, until you get all your homework done! And you have to stay in your room!"

"Ah, no!" Usagi stumbled, turning back to her mother in despair. "Please, mum!"

"No!" She roared, and Usagi squeaked and darted into her room to hide.

She leant against the door and pouted, before dropping her book bag on her desk and collapsing onto her bed. "But I don't want to do homework! It's so boring!" She complained. Usagi lay there for a few moments before rolling over and shutting her eyes. "I wish I could continue that dream from this morning and find out who the cape belonged to."

She yawned and dozed off silently, the warmth of the sun helping her slip into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

It was the sudden coolness and the banging of the window as it shut that woke her a few hours later. She sat up with a jolt and looked around her room in confusion, her eyes sliding over the various stuffed toys and her police-car alarm clock as she tried to see if anything was different. Nothing met her eyes immediately and she relaxed.

Suddenly the cat from that morning jumped onto her bed, startling her, and she jumped and fell off the side of the bed. She sat up, nursing her head where she had hit it on the floor and looked up at the sleek black cat staring down at her with a decidedly amused expression. "How'd you get in here?"

"I opened the window." It replied, and she froze. She rubbed her head and looked away, frowning slightly.

"Okay, I obviously hit my head really hard and am now unconscious. And no one will check up on me until morning, and I'll have a concussion and slip into a coma and never wake up and be that poor young girl who died without ever getting married and-" The cat suddenly head butted her, snapping her out of her oncoming panic attack.

"You are not unconscious, Usagi Tsukino." It – she, Usagi realised by the voice – chastised. "I am really speaking. Oh, and I really need to thank you for saving me from those boys this morning."

Usagi stared at her for a moment. "Uh, you're welcome? Um…why are you here, and talking?"

"Because you are a magical warrior born to fight against monsters, and I am here to help you. My name is Luna." She explained. Usagi stared at her for a moment more before a light went off.

"Oh, I get it!" She exclaimed happily. "I'm still dreaming! Good night."

She rested her head on the bed, stoutly ignoring the black cat that pushed against her head, protesting. "Fine! If you won't believe me, I'll just show you!"

Usagi felt the cat jump into the air, and an impossibly long time later the cat landed on the mattress again. A lighter weight fell on the bed as well and she peeked through her fringe at the gold brooch that had a stylised crescent moon and a pink gem in the centre sitting innocently on her pink bedspread. Four different coloured gems spread equally around the outside glimmered at her, and she picked it up in curiosity.

"This is for you." Luna stated.

"It's pretty!" She exclaimed, and pinned it to the centre of the bow on the front of her uniform. She stood up and turned to her mirror to examine it, as Luna told her about a strange enemy which she had to fight. "How am I supposed to do that? I'm just a normal girl."

"That brooch will give you the ability to transform into a magical warrior capable of fighting the monsters. Just say these words: Moon Prism Power, Makeup!" Luna told her, and she blinked in confusion before shrugging her shoulders.

"Okay." She agreed, before shouting, "Moon Prism Power, Makeup!"

She thrust an arm into the air, and lights flashed as her school uniform melted away, quickly replaced by red ribbons which turned into a tight white one piece with a blue sailor's collar and a red bow, and a short blue skirt with a red bow on the back. Red knee-high boots encased her legs, white elbow-length gloves appeared and a golden tiara materialised across her brow as her hair unwound itself from its braid and reformed.

She suddenly grabbed her earlobes in pain as ear piercing's appeared, little crescent moons dangling from a chain. She caught a glance of herself in the mirror, and stared in horror. "My hair!" She screeched. "It's blonde!"

Indeed, her hair had reverted to her original look from nine months ago, complete with round buns and streamers emerging from the base of each. Luna looked at her in interest.

"Is blonde your natural hair colour?" She asked, and Usagi nodded worriedly. "It's only the magic. Your hair should turn back to normal when you de-transform."

Usagi quickly cancelled the transformation, sighing in relief as she glowed white for a second and her hair was dark brown and braided again. "What about my ears?"

She pointed to her earlobes, which now had a hole pierced through each ear and were bleeding slightly. Luna ducked her head in embarrassment. "That may be permanent."

"What!" Usagi screeched, and Luna winced. Ikuko knocked on Usagi's door for a moment, and both girl and cat froze.

"Usagi, are you okay?" She asked. "I heard you yelling."

"I'm fine, mum! I was just… practising to be an actress!" She quickly called back.

"Oh, okay. But could you keep it down?"

"Sure mum!" She waited until her mother's footsteps faded away before turning back to the cat. "What the hell am I going to about this? How am I going to explain random ear piercings to my parents?" She hissed. Luna's ears flattened.

"There's no time for that now, Usagi. You need to become a sailor warrior again, and fight the monsters currently around Tokyo." She explained. Usagi glared at her for a moment.

"This isn't over," She hissed. "Moon Prism Power, Makeup!"

* * *

"So how do I know if someone needs help?" Usagi asked as Luna led her across the rooftops towards the centre of town. She was amazed as the speed and strength she had while in this form, and the height she could jump to.

"I'm…not certain." Luna admitted. The new sailor scout, christened Sailor Moon because of the moons on her choker, earrings and boots, rolled her eyes and stopped. Luna kept jumping for a few seconds before realising Sailor Moon was no longer beside her. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not going to randomly charge into town looking like this, jumping across rooftops and the like, without at least knowing where to go. There should be some way of knowing where the monsters are." She stated, crossing her arms. Luna ducked her head.

"You could sense them if you were psychic, but other than that I don't know. I haven't been given much information, or a way of tracking the monsters. My superiors haven't told me much." She admitted. Usagi stared at her for a moment before sighing.

"Okay, so we're both in the dark, though yours seems to be because your superiors didn't tell you anything, which is stupid. And I'm no psychic." She stated, before closing her eyes. _Think, Usagi. There must be something. They wouldn't send you in blind…would they?_

She became aware of a strange feeling gathering in one of the red jewels pinned to her buns, and it flashed as Naru's voice emitted. _"Please, somebody help! My mum – something's wrong!"_ She sounded panicky, and Usagi whirled in the direction of Osa-P Jewellery, leaping across the rooftops. Luna shot after her.

"What is it?" She asked, and Usagi frowned slightly.

"Naru's in trouble – it may be a monster." She replied. "My hair pieces seem to act as a signal for those in trouble."

"Alright." Luna nodded, and together they sped towards the jewellery shop.

Usagi burst in through one of the upper windows that was left open and delivered a heavy kick to the arms of the brown creature holding Naru in a choke. The monster dropped Usagi's friend in surprise and stumbled back, nursing it's wrist. "Who are you?" It screeched.

Usagi ignored the question and darted forward, putting her two months of self-defence training to use with a punch to the sternum followed up by a low sweeping kick to it's shins. It fell side ways, but sprang back and floated in the air a few feet out of Usagi's reach, stretching out its arms. "Awaken! My slaves that gave their energy to my great ruler!"

The unconscious patrons of the store stirred and rose to their feet, shambling like zombies with their arms outstretched towards Usagi. Wide, blank eyes stared at her, and she felt a stir of fear rise in her gut. "Ack! What are you people?"

"Sailor Moon, they are innocent humans! Don't hurt them!" Luna called out from her hiding place behind a pillar. Usagi dodged as a fat woman wearing a pink dress lunged at her.

"Easy for you to say, you're not doing the fighting!" She yelled back, and screamed as more of the zombies lunged at her with clawed hands. They backed her into a corner, and one lunged at her with a broken bottle she had found somewhere. A rose flashed between Sailor Moon and the controlled woman, startling the zombie into backing off. Sailor Moon looked up at the same window she had arrived through and her eyes widened at the man wearing a tuxedo and mask. A black velvet cape lined with red satin fluttered in the night breeze.

He smiled down at Sailor Moon, and the monster took advantage of her momentary distraction, sending an elongated arm at the sailor warrior. She screamed at the appendage, and felt the same build up of energy in her hairpieces as before. Her scream was suddenly echoing through the shop at a much louder level, and sonic shockwaves shook the building. Everyone except herself clutched their ears in pain as her scream reverberated, though the monster seemed to be the most affected.

"Sailor Moon!" Luna shouted at her, eyes scrunched in pain. "Take the tiara and yell 'Moon Tiara Action' and throw it!"

"What?" She yelled back.

"Just do it!" The cat yelled. She nodded and pulled the tiara from her forehead. The red gem lit up before the metal seemed to become charged with energy and spun, eventually turning into a ring of energy that floated above her hand.

"Moon Tiara Action!" She yelled, pulling her arm back and flinging it like a discus, her eyes focused on the bark-like monster. The monster screamed in pain as it hit before petrifying, and crumbled to dust which quickly disappeared. The humans which had been under its control fainted again, and her tiara returned to her hand.

"Congratulations, Sailor Moon." The masked man said and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Usagi yelled, and he paused. "Who are you?"

"I am Tuxedo Mask." He replied, before jumping into the darkness. Usagi stared at the space he had been, her heart doing a strange little flutter in her chest as she remembered her dream. _So you are the one who called me Princess. But why?_

"Well done, Sailor Moon." Luna said proudly, and Usagi grinned.

"That was scary!" She exclaimed. Luna looked at her in surprise.

"You didn't seem scared until the humans started attacking you." She said, and Usagi shrugged.

"I'm good at hiding my real feelings."

Luna followed her sailor warrior out of the shop after checking that everyone wasn't hurt, contemplating the young teens remark.

"Luna." Usagi said later that night, after she had de-transformed and changed into her pyjamas. "Don't worry about it. It's something I learnt as a young girl, long before I met my current friends. Bad habits die hard, you know?"

With that, Usagi rolled over and fell asleep easily. But sleep was not so swift for Luna.


	3. Chapter 2: Look to the Future

AN: I realise that the story right now follows pretty closely with the original. That's because I'm getting through the beginnings of Sailor Moon, setting up my characters and the like before I derail the storyline and go into original stuff. There's a bit of originality here already, enough I hope to keep you guys interested long enough for me to get to the good parts. This story will be slightly slow in pace, but I hope to make it a decent enough read that you don't get annoyed with me over it.

The chapters will not be a set length. I will write them until I feel it is a good place to stop, but I will try to get at least one episode of Sailor Moon into each.

Ages of the characters – Usagi's birthday is in June. The Japanese cut off date for a school year is April 1st, which means Usagi is thirteen until June. Naru's birthday is in January, which means her birthday is at the end of the school year, and she is a good six months younger than Usagi.

I shamelessly stole SING from Miss Congeniality. It's a good thing to remember, if you're ever in that situation.

_Disclaimer: Naoko Takeuchi owns Sailor Moon._

* * *

_Different_

_Chapter Two: Look to the Future and Don't Fall Asleep_

The week after Sailor Moon's debut into the crime-fighting world was slow, as only very weak monsters appeared. They seemed to have no real direction to follow, instead attempting to collect energy randomly and failing because Usagi had taken to patrolling Tokyo almost immediately after her first night.

Of course her homework suffered because of it, but she didn't mind too much.

It was a clear spring night, with a slightly chill breeze sweeping through the upper level of the city. Usagi had found a good viewpoint, with enough space for her and Luna to sit comfortably on a flat roof ornament. Her blue eyes swept from side to side as she surveyed the land, and Luna faced the opposite direction and copied her.

"Hey Luna." She started as she watched a new fortune telling stand being erected in the Juubangai shopping district. Luna glanced back at her before turning back to her watch.

"Yes?"

"How many Sailor Warriors are there?" She asked. Luna frowned.

"What do you mean?" She asked, and Usagi thought about her question for a moment.

"Well, you said that I am supposed to defend Tokyo from the monsters, and find and defend the Princess, right?" At Luna's nod, she continued. "But it seems a bit much for just one girl, so I was just wondering if there are other Warriors out there that we have to find too."

"I…don't know. I'll have to ask Central – they haven't said anything, but you're right." Luna admitted. "It is a big job for just one girl."

"Mm." Usagi hummed, before her eyes focused on a dull glow in one of the parks. "Heads up, we've got another one."

The duo leapt from their viewpoint, disappearing into the darkness.

* * *

Morning arrived far too early for Usagi's liking, and she yawned as she rolled out of bed, landing in a crouch with a dull thud. She shook out the last few remnants of her dream – something about a truck, an ice-cream stand and a swimming pool – as she scratched her head and straightened, stretching her back. It cracked as she leant forward and stretched out a kink that had formed overnight, and Luna winced at her.

"Are you sure you're alright? That crack doesn't sound healthy." She observed, and Usagi shrugged.

"It's fine." She waved her concerns off, and wove her hair into an elaborate braid, like a woven basket or mat with the length below her ears falling free in loose curls. Luna stared at it in surprise, amazed once again at how quickly Usagi could fiddle with all of her hair.

Usagi exchanged her studs for little silver pentagrams that dangled just below her earlobes before getting dressed in her uniform and clattering down the stairs, just in time for breakfast. Ikuko looked up as she entered, her eyes catching on the pieces of silver now embedded in her ears.

"Oh, Usagi! When did you get your ears pierced? I thought you didn't want to." She exclaimed, and Usagi scowled as she sat down.

"A friend of mine did it when I wasn't expecting her to. I had to go out and spend the money I was saving for a pair of boots on earrings instead." She pouted, and Ikuko chuckled.

"Well, it looks nice. Those boots seemed a bit frightening to me." Ikuko replied easily, serving breakfast as Shingo slid into his seat beside her.

"Hey Usagi, nice hair. Looks like a mat, which is perfect for a layabout like you." He teased, and she shot him a glare.

"Shingo…" She growled at him, and he poked his tongue out. "I know where you sleep."

"Yeah? Well, I know where you sleep too, so hah!" He flashed her a victory sign and she raised her hands, intent on throttling him. Ikuko coughed and the two children glanced up at her stern face.

"What have I said before? No fighting at the table!" She scolded, and they both looked down in shame. Out of the corner of her eye, Usagi saw Shingo pull his eyelid at her when their mother turned her back, and grumbled under her breath before digging in to her breakfast.

She dashed out of the house a few minutes later after pulling on her school shoes and grabbing her lunch and book bag, Shingo following not long after. "See you later, brat!" She called over her shoulder to him, and he blew a raspberry at her in response.

Miss Haruno stared at Usagi in surprise when she arrived on time, and Usagi grumbled. It wasn't every day she was late to school, after all, so there was no real reason for Miss Haruno to act so shocked in her opinion.

It was almost lunchtime when she finally became aware of the looks her best friend Umino kept sending her throughout Maths, and she frowned in confusion. She wrote a little note to Naru and chucked it at her when the teacher wasn't looking. The redhead read it before catching her eye and shrugging. _I'll ask him at lunch._ She mouthed to Usagi, who nodded.

* * *

"Hey, Umino?" The bespectacled boy looked up from the small pink game he held in surprise.

"Yes, Naru?" He asked. Naru shifted, her mind wondering how she was going to ask the boy in front of her, before she caught a glance of the small screen. There, against a blue background was a crudely drawn picture of a familiar blonde buns-and-streamers girl wearing a wedding dress, standing next to a man in a tuxedo with swirly glasses.

Naru stared at the picture in surprise, and blurted out "You like Usagi, don't you?"

The boy froze, and clutched the game to his chest. "N-No! Ahah, what gives you that idea?"

"You know, Usagi doesn't have blonde hair anymore…" Naru whispered, and he looked at her funny.

"I know that. It's just – the only picture of her I had when I made the Fortune Teller Deluxe had her old hairstyle!" He defended, only to clap a hand over his mouth as Naru's mouth curved into a self-satisfied smirk. "I-I mean-"

"It's okay, Umino." She patted him on the shoulder consolingly.

"Oh, what should I do? I really like her, and want to go on dates and maybe trade diaries with her, and talk to her parents about the future! I think she's the perfect girl!" He gushed. Naru burst out laughing and he recoiled, sinking to the ground in despair. "Oh, I knew it. I'm not good enough for her, am I?"

"Hey, hey!" Naru interrupted him, looking worried and slightly sheepish. "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh like that. But Usagi – well, she's a bit dense when it comes to emotions, so you can't just come out and ask her upfront on a date."

"So I should pounce on her from behind?" He jumped up, excited. Naru waved her hands frantically in denial.

"No – she's likely to toss you over her shoulder and stomp on you before you even realised what was happening! She takes self-defence lessons every Wednesday remember? And today's Wednesday, which means you won't see her again until tomorrow anyway." She reminded him, and he slumped against a tree. "No, I think you should go to a fortune teller for advice."

"But I already know how the future is going to plan out." He stated in confusion, waving his game at her. "This was made according to my ideas, and it says that Usagi and I are supposed to get married."

"Not that, you idiot! A _real_ fortune teller!" Naru shouted at him. "There's one that's apparently really good in Juubangai, a few blocks over from the arcade."

He looked at her thoughtfully. "And you say that this fortune teller will be able to help me go on a date with Usagi?"

"Yes."

Umino considered Naru's words carefully before nodding. "Okay, if you say it will help, I'll go there this afternoon, after school."

He walked off and Naru sighed as she watched him disappear around a corner. She turned back the direction she had come and found Usagi waiting for her with a bottle of orange juice. She accepted it gratefully.

"So you know why he was staring at me funny?" Usagi asked, and she nodded.

"Yeah. It's okay – nothing to worry about. He'll probably tell you tomorrow or something." She evaded Usagi's next question easily, and the brunette nodded in acquiescence.

* * *

Usagi ran home that afternoon, eager to get changed and head off to her self-defence lessons that night. The classes were fun and interesting, one of the few things she didn't mind learning about or doing homework for – not that they ever set any. And her teacher had told everyone in her class, which was mostly made up of girls her age, that doing the class would help them stay thin and not to worry about what weight they were as muscle weighed more than fat did.

Usagi had taken that fact to heart and stopped using her mother's scales in the bathroom, instead just keeping an eye on her stomach and hip measurements, so she didn't get too wide.

A glimpse of white hair caught her attention as she ran past an alleyway and she paused, backtracking to take a look. It was an old man sitting behind a simple wooden table proclaiming palm readings for two hundred yen. She glanced around the surprisingly empty street for a moment before recognising the alleyway.

"Ah, isn't there usually a giant line-up to you?" She asked him, stepping into the alleyway. He smiled and laughed sadly.

"I guess it's because there is competition now." He said, pointing across the road. Usagi glanced back and recognised the store she had seen being put up the previous night. "Everyone prefers the new to the old."

She frowned in distaste at the flashy lights and brightly painted pillars framing the doorway. "It's awfully gaudy, don't you think?" He hummed noncommittally, though she liked to think he agreed with her. Turning back to the man, Usagi reached into her pocket and pulled out the remainder of her lunch money, extending her palm to him. "Here, read my palm!"

He stared at the proffered limb in surprise before flashing her a grateful smile, pulling out a large magnifying glass. "Hm. There's a man that likes you right now. It's someone you see all the time."

"Really? Wow. Can you see anymore?" She asked, and he smiled.

"A long-lasting love and a beautiful girl who is very dear to your heart, as well as new, good friends are to come." He told her. "That's all I see for now."

"Wow. That sounds amazing. Thank you so much!" She dropped three hundred yen onto his table happily and waved him off when he tried to give her the one hundred in change. "I have to get going now, I'll see you later!" She ran out of the alleyway, glancing at her watch and blinking at the time. "I've still got time to go see Motoki in the arcade. Awesome!"

She skipped off happily, her book bag swinging in wide sweeps. Further up the street, a little child imitated a ballerina while her mother looked through a magazine stack outside of a newsagent. The child kicked her foot up with more force then necessary, and Usagi watched as her little shoe came off and flew over the older girl's head. She turned to watch as it came down on top of a man walking the other direction, landing on his head.

The man froze and grabbed the shoe, turning to see whom it belonged to. It was the jerk that had teased her about her height before, and his dark blue eyes rested on her almost immediately. "That hurts, shortie." He sneered as he marched up to her, the shoe clenched in his fist.

"Is that all you can say?" She retorted. "Maybe you need to get some glasses then."

"I don't need glasses, my eyesight is perfectly fine. Maybe you should so you can see where you're chucking your shoes around better." He argued back.

"Oh yeah? Well maybe if you had glasses, you would have noticed that I still have both of my shoes on, you jerk!" She shrieked at him. He blinked in surprise as she grabbed the shoe out of his hand and turned away, before glancing down at her feet. True to her word, both of her shoes were still on and didn't look like they'd be coming off any time soon. She wore fully enclosed leather shoes with Velcro and a sole an inch thick to add to her height. Feeling more than a little chagrined, he opened his mouth to say something, only for her to cut him off. "Save it for the peanut gallery, jerk."

It was then that he noticed a little girl and her mother were watching, and the girl was missing a shoe exactly the same as the one that had landed on his forehead. Usagi knelt in front of the child, offering her a smile. "Here you are. Next time you practice ballet, wear thicker shoes. Maybe it'll knock some sense into his skull."

He bristled at the comment and turned away, stalking away from the three females in anger. The girl giggled behind him along with Usagi, and the mother sighed. "He has no manners." She commented, and Usagi nodded in agreement.

"Ah, look at the time!" She yelped, glancing at her watch. "I've got to go! Bye!"

She waved goodbye to the girl and her mother, who waved back cheerfully, before sprinting down the street. She reached home in record time, ripping off her shoes as her mother welcomed her home.

"You're late, Usagi. You've only got a few minutes before you have to leave again!" She scolded, and Usagi wailed an 'I know!' at her, dashing up the stairs. Luna was sitting expectantly on her bed, but Usagi rushed an explanation.

"Self-defence lessons tonight for an hour and a half, I'll be home later and ready to patrol then!"

She quickly shucked her uniform and pulled on a tight, stretchy shirt and a pair of gym shorts. She grabbed a hair tie from her dresser and pulled her hair back into a low ponytail, not bothering to undo her braid as she raced back down the stairs. She grabbed the sandwich her mum had made her and shoved half of it into her mouth as she pulled on her joggers at the same time her dad pulled on his shoes again, and was out the door in a flash. Her dad followed a minute later, car keys and a water bottle for Usagi in hand.

Luna watched as Kenji's red hatchback reversed out of the driveway and disappeared down the street, and sighed. "Oh well." She said to herself. "At least she's only starting patrol late because of something useful, and not because of some boy or something."

Settling back on the pink covers of Usagi's bed, Luna yawned. _A quick nap wouldn't hurt._

* * *

The next day at school, Naru cornered her in front of the lockers. "Have you seen Umino yet?"

"Eh? No, why?" She asked. Naru sighed in concern.

"I didn't see him on the way to school this morning, so I was hoping maybe he'd either gotten here early or walked you to school." She admitted. Usagi's eyes widened.

"Eh! Why would he walk me to school?" She asked in bewilderment.

"Well…" Naru hesitated, only for Usagi to raise an eyebrow. She stared at the dyed piece of hair in confusion, as she'd never seen that expression on Usagi's face before, and answered. "I have an extremely strong feeling that he likes you, but he's too shy to do anything about it."

Usagi blinked in surprise. "How strong?" She asked suspiciously.

"As in, he made a game called Fortune Teller Deluxe, and at the end you two end up married. He wants to trade diaries with you and talk to your parents about the future." The redhead explained. Usagi backed up in shock.

"Eh?" She screeched. "But I'm only thirteen! My birthday's not for another two and a half months! I'm too young for marriage, no matter who the man is!"

Naru giggled. "Jeez, Usagi. You may be older than me, but you're a lot less mature."

Usagi pouted and turned away in a huff, only to notice Umino standing in the doorway to the school. He smirked as he noticed her looking at him and sauntered over, stuffing his hands nonchalantly in the pocket of his light blue suit. Naru stared at him as well.

"Usagi, let's ditch school and go on a date today, alright?" He leered at her, leaning against the lockers. Usagi raised her eyebrows in surprise and glanced back at Naru, who shrugged her confusion over the nerdy boys new leaf. "Come on, what do you say?"

"Umino, what's wrong? You're acting really weird today. Are you sick?" Usagi asked at the same time Naru said, "What are you doing? You can't come to school dressed like that!"

Umino's eyes slid over to their shorthaired friend. "I'll do what I want, Osaka." He said dismissively. Both Usagi and Naru recoiled at the tone in his voice as he straightened from his relaxed position.

Miss Haruna appeared behind the group of boys that seemed to be acting as his posse, anger rolling off the adult in waves as she marched up to him. "Gurio Umino! What do you think you are doing, coming to school dressed like that?"

He turned to face her, a sly smirk on his face as he eyed her. His gaze lingered on her knees, exposed due to the flowing mahogany skirt and jacket suit she wore, and she grew slightly nervous. "Oh, nothing much," He drawled as he walked past her. His hand slipped under the back edge of her skirt as he passed, and he flipped it. "Just enjoying the view."

The mob of students with him laughed outrageously as they left, and Miss Haruna gasped as she felt a breeze against the back of her thighs and the bottom hem of her skirt flip up to her back, revealing pink underwear with teddy bears to the crowd gathered nearby. The school children tittered, some giggling at the childish underwear she wore, and others muttering in shock at Umino's actions. A blue haired girl in the crowd narrowed her eyes at the blatant show of disrespect towards a teacher, before moving off to her class.

Usagi fumed, one fist clenching as she considered marching out the school doors after Umino to show him what she thought of his treatment of their teacher and her answer to his earlier questions, but a soft hand on her shoulder curtesy of Naru stemmed that desire for now. She looked down at her Homeroom and English teacher in pity, who had sunk to her knees as she wailed, and turned to the gathered crowd.

"Well? Why are you all standing around here? Bugger off and find something else to gawk at, losers!" She barked at the other students. They looked at her in consternation but moved off, muttering amongst themselves about Usagi's rudeness. Naru looked at her in dismay for her language and treatment of the other students, as that wouldn't help her reputation as a troublemaker at all, but admitted to herself it was probably the right thing to do.

Miss Haruna had descended into hiccups now, occasionally broken by the large sobs she still let out, which were only slightly better than the loud wails of before. Usagi knelt beside her and offered her the handkerchief she kept in her pocket, and the older woman accepted it gratefully.

"I-I'll never get married now! No one will want a girl when everyone has seen her underwear!" She wailed again and blew her nose into Usagi's handkerchief loudly. Usagi grimaced and patted her teacher condolingly on the back.

"That's not true, Miss Haruna!" She stated forcefully, and her teacher looked up at her. "You're a lovely young woman, who is very, _very _pretty and any man would be lucky to have you. Umino's just a jerk."

"But, h-he's your friend isn't he, Usagi?" She asked. Usagi scowled and glared in the direction he had gone.

"Not if he's going to act like that!" She vowed. "If I could, I'd go out there and beat him up for what he did to you, Miss Haruna. That was just mean."

Beside her, Naru nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "Come on, Miss Haruna, cheer up. At least only kids saw you. There weren't any adults around, so if the kids say you were wearing teddy bear undies, you can just say you weren't and the other teacher's will believe you! And you're still a very eligible woman for marriage. I reckon you'll be married before we graduate high school."

Usagi nodded in agreement, and Miss Haruna sniffed up at them. "You really think so?" She asked.

"Hey, there's five years to go yet, and anything can happen in five years. Hey, for all we know you could meet the man of your dreams this Christmas or something!" Naru encouraged. A weak smile appeared on their teachers face, and both girls felt a wave of relief as she climbed to her feet.

"Thank you, girls." She offered Usagi her handkerchief back, but Usagi waved it off. "Well, come on. Off to class."

She shooed the girls ahead of her and composed herself a bit more before following. As she watched the swinging plaits of the dark haired girl, she thought to herself. _You're nicer than you seem, Usagi Tsukino. And you're not as much of a troublemaker as the other teachers said._

* * *

The rest of the day went just as badly as the first confrontation. Umino read manga in class and laughed hysterically, disrupting their English lessons, and Yuuji, one of Umino's cronies, tripped Miss Haruna when she went to discipline him. Miss Haruna was besieged on all sides from cruel words from the five boys, and the rest of the class watched in shock.

Naru took Usagi aside at lunchtime and they went around the back of A block. Naru wrung her hands in worry. "Umino's really changed, and it was only after I said to go to a fortune teller yesterday. He was fine when we parted ways after school."

"A fortune teller? I stopped by one on my way home yesterday too, actually. But I didn't see Umino." Usagi said.

"He went to House of Fortune – the one which has just opened in Juubangai. Come to think of it, Yuuji went there too, as well as all the others." Naru told her. Usagi frowned in thought. _All of them, and they suddenly started acting strange? Could it be…?_

The sound of breaking glass disrupted the girl's conversation, and they whipped around, darting to the corner. Umino and his mob were throwing rocks at the window of one of the teacher's lounges, and a teacher who had appeared to question them had to duck as more were thrown at him. Usagi gasped and charged forwards, ignoring Naru's outstretched hand of caution.

"U-mi-no!" She growled out as she marched up to him. He turned to her in surprise, but his face quickly morphed into a perverted leer.

"Usagi! Just the girl I wanted to see. Have you come to take me up on that date? Or perhaps," His eyes waggled grotesquely and Usagi felt apprehension in her gut, "you've come to give the boys and I a good time, eh?"

Usagi recoiled as though struck, before her apprehension was replaced by disgust. "Yeah, Umino. Here's your 'good time'!"

She lunged forward and sunk her fist into the boy's stomach, and he coughed as he folded around her arm. His glasses slid to the end of his nose as he staggered backwards and knelt on the ground in pain, before looking up and barking at his minion, "Get her!"

Usagi quickly danced away as the first boy lunged and ducked under another's outstretched hands. A third tried to tackle her feet, but she cart wheeled away and kicked the fourth boy in the back. He staggered forwards, but quickly recovered and turned on her. She ducked under a few punches, using the boy's lack of coordination and teamwork against them as she danced around their attacks.

She failed to notice that Umino was no longer incapacitated on the ground however, and suddenly found herself trapped in his arms, one hand pulling harshly on the long plaits she wore and the other twisting her left arm up behind her back. The other boys stopped once they realised that their leader had a firm grip on the girl, and their mouths twisted into cruel grins.

Tears welled up unwillingly as Umino pulled on her hair again, and she swore he was going to tear a big chunk of it out if he wasn't careful. One of the boys saw the tears, and his grin turned into a malicious smirk. "Oh, is poor crybaby Usagi going to cry?" He taunted before chanting a very familiar song. "My name's Usagi, hear me cry."

Usagi's eyes widened, and she suddenly recognised him as one of the children from that late spring afternoon six years ago. Remembering him and the chant he was singing turned the sharp pain from her hair into humiliation that twisted inside her. The humiliation quickly transformed into indignant anger, and she recalled what her self-defence teacher had taught her. _If a male has you from behind, just remember to SING._

Usagi scowled and blinked away the tears, fire burning in her eyes as she prepared herself. "Solar plexus, Instep, Nose, Groin." She hit each of the areas on Umino forcefully as she chanted her own mantra, leaving him breathless and trying to grab his nose, foot and groin all at once. The boys stared at her in surprise before growling in anger and lunging at her.

At that moment, however, Naru appeared around the corner, followed by four of the stronger male teachers and Miss Haruna and another female teacher. The male teachers quickly restrained the boys without harming them, and Usagi took the chance to breathe, rubbing her head where Umino had pulled the hair. It was tender, but no damage seemed to be dealt.

"Usagi! I ran and got help as soon as he said 'good time'. Did anything happen?" Naru demanded, fussing over her. Usagi smiled thankfully at her as Miss Haruna came over to check on her. The other teacher had pulled out her phone and was calling someone.

"Other than my hair getting a good tug, and my arm's a bit sore because Umino twisted it, I'm fine. Thanks Naru. You probably saved my life." She said, rolling her shoulder and massaging her bicep. Miss Haruna looked at the teary, bloody mess that was Umino.

"What happened to him?" She asked, and Usagi scowled.

"He caught he from behind and by surprise, and happened to have a good enough grip that I couldn't get out of it. So I remembered what my self-defence teacher told me – to SING." She explained. Naru and Miss Haruna looked at her in confusion and she sighed before explaining. "Solar plexus, Instep, Nose, Groin. An elbow to the solar plexus, a heel to the instep, an elbow to the nose, and an elbow to the groin."

Naru's eyes widened and she looked down at Umino, who was completely oblivious to his surroundings as he rolled around in pain. Miss Haruna nodded. "I'm glad you take those classes Usagi. Who knows what could have happened otherwise. Maybe I should sign up in a self defence class too?"

Usagi nodded in her direction, but her mind was elsewhere. Ideas and pieces of the puzzle that was the boy's sudden change of behaviour whirled around in her head as she tried to figure all the clues out. But one thing stood out for sure – she needed to take a look at the House of Fortune.

* * *

"Luna, we have a situation." Were Usagi's first words when she got home that afternoon. The black cat looked up at her, noticing the vibrant red mark that still throbbed slightly when Usagi touched it on the base of her skull, and nodded.

"What's happened?" She asked. Usagi changed from her school uniform into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and scooped the cat up into her arms.

"I'll tell you on the way." She told her. Usagi hurried down the stairs and slipped into a pair of sandals that she could run in and darted out the door before her parents could catch her.

"Usagi! Get back here!" Ikuko called after her daughter, but her twin plaits had already disappeared around the corner. "Damn it!"

"Usagi, what's going on?" Luna demanded. Usagi frowned in concentration and explained the situation to her.

"Five boys from my school visited House of Fortune yesterday afternoon after school. Before, they were polite, nice boys. This morning when they arrived they disturbed all the classes, tripped Miss Haruna and flipped her skirt, threw rocks at windows and wanted me to either date the ringleader, my friend Umino, or 'give them a good time'. I fought back, but I'm not sure what would have happened if I couldn't." Luna felt a shiver run down her spine and her hackles raised at the dark thoughts that entered her mind. Usagi was silent for a moment. "The common symptom in all the boys is their visit to the House of Fortune yesterday afternoon. I believe in there we will find either a cure, a monster, or another clue leading us to either the cure or a monster."

Luna nodded. The reasoning was sound. "Alright, warrior. You know what to do."

Usagi nodded grimly and ducked into a nearby alleyway, out of the sight of everyone else on the street. A bright flash of light later, and a blonde girl was leaping across the rooftops towards the Juubangai shopping district.

* * *

Sailor Moon slipped inside the house of fortune through an upper-level window, forgoing the main entrance on the street. She was glad she had when she crept to a small balcony that overlooked the psychic's room. A pale woman with black hair was leant over a crystal ball, where Usagi could vaguely make out a humanoid with blonde hair. Incense filled the room with the sickeningly strong scent of sandalwood and mango, and red velvet curtains blocked out the windows on the lower levels.

"The energy collection is going well, Lord Jadeite. I have almost gathered all that you need for now. The humans will be returning to me soon, and I will gather the rest of the energy from them. Of course, the boys will all die." She laughed triumphantly, leaning her head back, and Sailor Moon caught a glimpse of red make up around her eyes and a purple dress that had been hidden by the shadows and angle.

The man in the crystal ball said something in reply, but Sailor Moon couldn't quite catch it. The monster bowed. "As you wish, Lord Jadeite."

The image in the crystal faded, and the monster sat back in her chair as she shuffled a deck of tarot cards in anticipation. Usagi glanced down at Luna and imitated covering her ears, warning Luna what she was about to do. The cat's eyes widened and she scrunched in on herself as much as possible and covered her ears, as Usagi gathered magic in her hairpieces.

An unearthly scream blasted from the jewels, catching the monster by surprise as Usagi jumped over the railing, landing in a crouch on the table. She lashed out with a kick to the monster's jaw that sent her crashing into the back wall, and the monster glared at her with hateful eyes as it shifted into its true form. It's hair thickened and transformed into grotesque hand-like claws, and it's skin stretched painfully over its muscles and bones, turning a deep olive green.

The creature unleashed a flurry of tarot cards and Usagi rolled backwards off the table to avoid them, and barely missed being gouged by the hair-claws the monster wielded. "Who are you?" The creature hissed as it floated into the air above the table so it could see Usagi.

"None…of your…business!" She retorted as she picked up the table, staggering slightly under the weight, and flung it at the creature. Another blast of sonic screams accompanied the table, and the creature hissed like a snake as it avoided the table and covered its ears. It wasn't as affected as other monsters had been, and Usagi cursed as she guessed that sound didn't hurt it, merely annoyed it.

"I'll kill you!" It screeched, whipping its hair at her. Usagi dodged and rolled out of the way, jumping as it sent a wave of cards almost instantly afterwards. The cards embedded into the wall behind her, and Usagi saw the glint of razor sharp steel edges in the dim light.

Wave after wave of attack from the monster left Usagi with no chance to fight back, as she focused entirely on getting out of the way of the cards and hair. The wooden doors behind her burst open suddenly, and she whirled around as the five boys from her school burst into the room, their skin the same green as the monsters and their eyes yellow. They lunged for her with outstretched claws, and she suddenly found herself between two enemies with nowhere to dodge.

Black velvet encased her, and she was flying through the air in the strong arms of Tuxedo Mask as he carried her to the relative safety of the balcony above. The boys stared after them in anger as the monster flung another handful of cards at the pair, only for Tuxedo Mask to deflect them with a spin of his cane. He released Sailor Moon and jumped out to meet the monster mid-air, wielding his cane like a sword and got in a few hits.

"Perhaps it's time to even the odds?" He quipped, and Sailor Moon resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

Instead, she took the time he gave her to charge her tiara up to full strength, and readied herself. "Duck!" She screamed as she released it, and Tuxedo Mask instantly dropped to the ground. The monster wasn't so lucky however, and it received her tiara front on. It screeched and hissed like a dying snake before petrifying and crumbling, its ashes soon disappearing.

Tuxedo Mask looked around the trashed fortuneteller's shop before giving Sailor Moon a genteel smile. He tipped his hat to her. "We shall meet again, Sailor Moon."

A gust of window suddenly blew one of the red velvet curtains around him and he disappeared, leaving Usagi staring at the space he had been standing in shock. She was certain that window had been shut beforehand.

Luna crept out from her hiding space in a dark corner. "Well done, Sailor Moon. You did very well today."

Usagi nodded in appreciation as she looked over the collapsed bodies of the boys from her school. They had returned to normal when the monster perished, and she sighed at the trouble they would be in over something that was not their control. Glancing around, she spotted a small scrap of paper lying torn off to one side and turned to Luna. "Do you have a pen?"

Luna eyed her, but jumped into the air and did a strange double back flip accompanied by glitter, and a pink bejewelled pen appeared in the air. Usagi grabbed it before it could fall to the ground and quickly scribbled a note on the scrap of paper, leaving it sitting on top of the pile of boys.

She leapt out the same window Tuxedo Mask had left through as police sirens and flashing lights filled the street outside, disappearing into the darkness.

Later that night, Usagi listened to the late news on the radio, to see if anything had been done about the boy's predicament.

"_And in other news, a group of five boys was discovered unharmed in the ruined House of Fortune early this evening. No evidence suggests that they involved in the ruin of the fortuneteller's stand, or the subsequent disappearance of the fortuneteller herself. A mysterious note from the vigilante Sailor Moon, who has been making a name for herself recently, suggests that there may have been a monster involved. More updates to come."_

There was a blast of music signalling the end of the news broadcast, and a soft lullaby started. _"Good Evening, it's time for Midnight Zero."_

Usagi sighed in relief, turning the radio down to just a murmur as the next show started and turned back to Luna. "The boys should be okay, right?"

The cat shrugged. "I suppose. There's no evidence that they weren't more than innocent bystanders. The only fallout they should receive will be over their actions yesterday at school."

Usagi nodded and switched out her light, climbing into bed. "Have you gotten in contact with Central yet?"

"Yes." Luna said, settling on the girl's stomach. "They said there was already one Warrior fighting, but she wouldn't be coming out here until the situation in England has resolved itself. They also said there should be at least three others, but they're not certain on their location. They could be in Australia for all we know. And there are still no leads on the Princess"

Usagi sighed. "Oh well. They'll turn up sooner or later, I guess."

She rolled over, dislodging Luna who scowled and curled into the back of the brunette's neck, quickly falling asleep to the soft murmurs of J-Dite that filled her room.

* * *

_A soft waltz filled the room, and Usagi fidgeted. She watched everyone on the dance floor in yearning, wishing that someone would ask her to dance. However, it was a masquerade ball and her hair was styled differently to how it usually was, so no one recognised the young girl and therefore avoided her._

_She fidgeted with the half mask on her face decorated with brightly coloured feathers from a bird native to Mars and moon dust which shimmered in the light, before heaving a disappointed sigh. She could see her mother on the dais, regally reclining in her throne as she chatted with a few of her friends, and wished she could join them. But her mother had told her that she was to join the crowd and enjoy herself._

"_What is a beautiful young thing such as yourself doing all alone at an occasion such as this?" A smooth voice asked her, and she spun in surprise. Tuxedo Mask stood before her with a small smile on his face. He stretched out his hand. "Would the lady care to dance?"_

_She found herself blushing and smiled sweetly up at him, placing a white-gloved hand in his own, and allowed him to sweep her out onto the dance floor. Her dress swirled around her heeled shoes, glowing softly in the brightly lit room. The pair shared a smile, and Usagi leant her head on the chest of the tall man in front of her._

_Someone was dancing with her. And they didn't even realise that she was the princess. For the night, Usagi was content._

* * *

The next few days passed quickly. Usagi woke early on Monday morning and clattered downstairs with her hair in a half-ponytail to find her father reading the newspaper in concern. He looked up at her and seemed relieved that she was awake, and smiled broadly.

"Good morning Usagi! You're up early." He said. Ikuko poked her head out of the kitchen and gave her daughter a smile. Usagi smiled back.

"Good morning! I had a really good nights sleep last night, so I'm not tired at all!" She said, sliding into her seat at the dining table. "What's happening in the paper today, dad?"

Her father frowned and laid the paper flat so Usagi could see the picture of girls lying in hospital beds. The upside down headline read 'Is it a New Modern Disease? Mysterious Sleeping Illness Going Around!' and Usagi frowned. "There's a new illness going around that is making girls sleep, and they can't wake up. So far boys don't seem to be affected though."

"Oh." She read the first few paragraphs of the paper before leaning back in her chair. "I wonder what's causing it?"

"They don't know. There's no symptoms or anything – the girls literally just fall asleep where they stand and don't wake up." Kenji explained, picking up the paper again. Usagi picked at her breakfast while she thought, and ran to school as soon as she could.

Naru met her halfway there, and the brunette fell in step with the redhead. "Hey, Usagi, do you listen to Midnight Zero?"

"No. I'm either asleep or really busy when it comes on." Usagi shook her head, and Naru gaped at her.

"What? But – it's like the most romantic talk show on the radio! You write letters to your boyfriend, or the guy you like, or even your future boyfriend and send it in, and if they read it out you'll get sent a flower brooch in the mail!" Naru gushed. Usagi stared at her.

"Naru, you own a jewellery shop. Why do you need a flower brooch?" She shook her head. "Besides, I wouldn't want my feelings being read out to everyone who listens to the show. You should tell the person yourself, not rely on the off chance that they happen to be listening to Midnight Zero when your letter gets read out."

Naru huffed and turned away in annoyance. "Whatever Usagi. You just don't appreciate romance." She sniffed in annoyance, but couldn't hold the feeling for long when Usagi pouted. "Do you think Umino will be at school today?"

"I don't know." Usagi admitted.

Their friend hadn't been seen since Thursday, when he disrupted all the classes and was found unconscious in the ruined House of Fortune. He'd missed school that Friday and his parents rebutted any attempt the two girls made at contacting him, stating he was in big trouble and needed time to get himself sorted out. Usagi worried for him slightly, as she knew that his actions weren't his fault but rather belonged to a monster.

"Well anyway-" Naru started only to be cut of by the loud voice of their wayward friend.

"Naru! Usagi!" He called as he ran up to them. The two girls paused to wait for him to catch up. He came to a halt a respectful three metres away from the girls and bowed deeply. "I just wanted to apologize for anything I may have done last Thursday. I've been told I was very rude and cruel not only to you, but also to many other students and teachers, and I wanted to try to make it up to you."

"Apology not accepted!" Naru stated turning away. "Come on Usagi."

Usagi looked at her redhead friend and glanced back at Umino, who looked crushed by Naru's rejection. "Umino, you said you were told that you were rude and cruel. Don't you remember anything?"

"No!" He yelled, worry furrowing his eyebrows and he frowned in disappointment. "I wish I could so I'd know exactly what I had to apologize for."

"Well…" Usagi started, and smirked. "I can tell you, if you promise to do something for me."

"Anything! Please?" He agreed. Usagi glanced after her redheaded friend to make sure she was out of earshot.

"I want you to write to that talk show, Midnight Zero, proclaiming how you feel deeply for Naru and want to be her boyfriend. She listens to it all the time." Usagi said. "You're not allowed to use and alias. And I want the flower brooch that gets sent to you if they read it out."

"Yes, yes! Anything!" He agreed fervently. Usagi slung an arm across his shoulders and started walking to school with him.

"Well, you see, you…"

* * *

The school day was spent watching as Umino apologised profusely to all the teachers, offered to clean up the teachers lounge and their classroom, begged Miss Haruna for forgiveness which she only gave him to get him off the floor, and apologised to each and every student he had wronged. The other boys who were with him also apologised, but only very generally to everyone at once. Naru turned to Usagi that lunchtime.

"How come he hasn't apologised to you personally for the things he attempted?" She asked. Usagi shrugged as she dug into her lunchbox.

"I didn't tell him. I figured he had enough to apologise for, he didn't need to agonise over something that I've already forgiven him for." She explained. Naru stared at her in surprise.

"Wow. You're a much more forgiving person than I am Usagi. I would have told him and then never been friends again." She admitted.

"I listened to the late night news last night, just before Midnight Zero." Usagi admitted. "The last article was that the boys had been found and that new superhero, Sailor Moon, said that a monster was controlling them. So I figured it wasn't really his fault anyway."

"Wow. I didn't know that. I just listened to Midnight Zero." Naru admitted. "Oh! Last night someone called Haruna the Dreamer from Juubangai had her letter read out. I was wondering if it was Miss Haruna, but she's not wearing a brooch."

"Well, it was only read out last night. It's not going to magically appear on her doorstep six hours after it was read out, you know. If it was her, she'll probably be wearing it tomorrow." Usagi pointed out. Naru gasped.

"Ah! How come I didn't think of that?" She said, and the friends laughed.

* * *

That night, Usagi took a portable radio with her on patrol, and tuned in to Midnight Zero from her perch. Luna half listened as well.

"_Good evening, it's time for Midnight Zero. The first love letter we will read is from Naru who lives in Juubangai."_

Usagi almost tripped in shock, staring at the radio as the rich voice of J-Dite read the words Naru had written. "Naru? Ah, the hopeless fool." They listened to the rest of the show, but no one else they knew had sent letters in, and Usagi turned the radio off with a click. As she did, a bright flash of light from the top of FM 10 radio station caught her eye, but when she looked over again nothing was there.

"Huh. That's strange." She muttered to herself.

* * *

Usagi was late to school the next day, but as she slid into her seat she realised the teacher wasn't there. "Hey? Where's Miss Haruna?"

Naru looked around the room as well and shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't seen her at all."

The room fell silent as the door to the classroom slid open with a clatter, and Miss Haruna stumbled into the room. Exhaustion weighed on every line in her body, and her hair was only half brushed. Her suit jacket was left unbuttoned, revealing a light pink blouse, and pinned to the lapel was a large purple flower brooch. She dropped books on her way to her podium at the front of the classroom, and yawned widely.

"Okay. I'll do…roll call now." She mumbled as she opened the book. It slipped out of her hands and she stared down at the podium in surprise before yawning again. She mumbled something about self-study before slumping against the podium and falling asleep where she stood. The action sent chills down Usagi's spine.

"_The girls literally fall asleep where they stand and don't wake up."_ Her dad's words from the previous morning rung in her mind, and she leapt to her feet, racing to the front of the classroom.

"Miss Haruna, Miss Haruna! Wake up!" When the teacher didn't stir she looked up at the rest of her class, who sat there in shock. "Quickly, someone run and get another teacher!"

A boy at the back of the class bolted from the room, and moments later returned with another teacher, who took stock of the situation before pulling out his cell phone and dialling an ambulance. He pulled Usagi back from Miss Haruna, leaving the teacher alone on her podium. "We don't know how it spreads, so everyone just stay away! Sit in you seats and wait for the paramedics!" He shouted.

The ambulance wasn't too far away, and the class crowded around the windows as they watched their homeroom teacher being taken away. The children murmured amongst themselves in worry.

"I wonder what happened?" Naru murmured to Usagi. Umino stood on Usagi's other side, still not forgiven by the redhead.

"I heard that there was an illness going around where you just don't wake up no matter what they try." He said, and Usagi nodded.

"My dad told me about it yesterday. So far it's only affecting girls, but they don't know how long that'll last." She explained. The other two shivered at the thought.

"How horrible!" Naru exclaimed. Usagi shrugged.

"I don't know. I reckon it'd be kind of fun staying in your dreams all the time. And you'd never complain of being tired again!" She joked. _I'd like to stay in mine, so I could figure out what they meant._ Naru slapped her on the shoulder.

"Usagi! It's no joking matter! This is serious!" She chastised, and Usagi pouted.

"Ruin my fun." She mumbled. Umino laughed nervously beside her, and she turned to him. "Oh yeah. Did you do what I asked?"

"Yes." He nodded. "I sent it off this morning on my way to school."

"Good!" Usagi grinned. Naru watched in confusion, but Usagi wandered away before she could ask what was happening, and she still wasn't talking to Umino, so she huffed and turned to look where the ambulance had disappeared. Usagi would probably tell her later.

* * *

The next day, Naru opened her brooch in front of the entire class, and collapsed into the mysterious sleeping illness. Umino pulled Usagi aside and told her how his letter had been read out last night and Naru had been acting weird before school.

That afternoon, Umino came around to her house late and handed her a small package the same size as Naru's brooch had been. Ikuko invited him to stay for dinner, but he begged off and disappeared quickly. Usagi opened the package in her bedroom and picked it up, only to drop it suddenly when Luna hissed and batted it out of her hand.

"What the – Luna?" She asked the black cat in shock, and Luna hissed at the flower again before answering.

"It feels of dark energy when you pick it up." She spat. Usagi cautiously picked it up again by a petal despite Luna's protests, and dropped it when she felt her energy levels dropping.

"This is it!" She exclaimed. She wrapped her hands in an old shirt and dropped it back into its box before clattering down the stairs to the living room. "Dad! I found the source of the mysterious sleeping illness! It's this flower brooch that Midnight Zero sends out if they read your love letter!"

Kenji looked up at her in surprise and looked down at the purple flower sitting innocently in the box. "Honestly, Usagi. You don't need to make up stories like this. How can a flower brooch be the source of a disease?"

He reached out and picked up the brooch, only to drop it back into the box in shock when he too felt his energy levels dropping drastically. Usagi levelled a glare at him. "See? You need to take this to the hospital and let them know!"

"I'll go right away! And I should call the magazine – wait till they hear that _my_ daughter found the cause behind everyone falling asleep!" He hurried out the door, pulling on his coat and dialling his work as he snatched the box from Usagi's hands. Usagi followed close behind, pulling on her shoes and darting out the door before her dad had realised what she'd done. He shouted in alarm as she ran down the street in the direction of FM 10, closely followed by a black cat.

Usagi sprinted to the radio station as fast as she could, sliding to a halt just shy of the gates. A guard watched over the entranceway, and she hid in the shadows in concern, biting her nail. "Luna, how do we get past? We can't go charging in dressed like Sailor Moon – they'd call security and the police before we found the right room, and then we'd be stuffed!"

"That pen I gave you the other day – do you have it on you?" Luna asked. Usagi pulled it out of her pocket and held it up, and Luna nodded. "It's a magic device that allows you to change your appearance. Just say 'Disguise Pen' and then what you want to become."

"Okay." Usagi nodded. She thrust it into the air and said, "Disguise Pen, make me a professional news reporter!"

Lights flashed around her, and she suddenly found herself taller, with short blonde hair. She wore a dark blue skirt suit with matching heels, and nodded. Luna looked her over and nodded in approval.

"Looks good. Now let's go!" She said. Usagi squared her shoulders and marched into the radio station grounds, ignoring the guard who leapt to his feet in surprise, entering the building before he could stop her. She marched through the brightly lit corridors, relying on Luna's sensing abilities to find the monster behind the newest energy scam.

Luna led her to a dark pink door, where Usagi peeked in through the window to see who was behind it. A blonde man sat reading the letters in front of the microphone as a woman in a green suit watched over the proceedings. Men lay around the equipment, asleep, and Usagi gasped.

"They've been taking over the program!" She hissed. "Right."

She marched right into the room, ignoring the woman who cried out in surprise, and sat across from J-Dite, startling him from the letter he was reading.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"We interrupt your program with an emergency news broadcast. Medical research has discovered that the flower brooches sent front the show Midnight Zero are actually devices designed to drain you of all you energy. For your safety, we urge you not to touch them!" She shouted into the microphone over the top of J-Dite's angry questions. The blonde man glared at her and snarled, standing up in anger.

"Who are you?" He demanded again. Usagi glared up at him, attempting to squash the fear she felt at the sight of his icy eyes glaring into her own. The glass screen separating the sound booth and equipment room exploded, showering the young woman in glass as the redhead she had ignored earlier flew into the room.

She dived behind the table as the woman transformed into a purple skinned monster and breathed explosive gaseous energy towards her, barely dodging out of the way. The blonde man jumped back to avoid the blast himself and Usagi took the opening he created to dive out of the sound room and into the hallway, barely avoiding another blast of energy. As soon as she was out of the duo's immediate sight, she transformed into Sailor Moon with a bright flash of light.

The pair burst into the hallway and froze at the sight of Sailor Moon, and the man growled. "You must be the one who keeps interfering with our work."

"Then you must be their boss – I saw you in the fortune teller's crystal ball." She stated, and he scowled.

"My name is Jadeite." He told her as his monster lunged forward, her nails elongating into razor sharp daggers. It growled at her and sent another blast of energy, which the cat and human dodged easily. Usagi led the way up to the roof through the hole the monsters attack had created, quickly followed by Luna and the monster herself.

The monster flew around the air far out of Usagi's reach, sending blasts of energy that kept her mostly on the defensive. As the monster took a second to charge up a stronger attack, Usagi took her chance to send her tiara at the monster. It flew wide, and the monster grinned in victory.

"Where are you aiming?" It taunted as Luna gasped at the lost weapon. Usagi narrowed her eyes and pulled her arm around, reaching out with her mind and magic and pulling the tiara back for another shot at the monster. The glowing discus slammed into the unexpecting monsters back, reducing it to ash in moments as Usagi called the tiara back to her.

Jadeite watched in anger as Sailor Moon destroyed his monster, but his anger turned into sinister amusement when she turned on him, tiara at the ready. "What, you want to fight me now?"

Usagi ignored him as she flung her tiara. The blonde man reached out with a hand and lightning crackled around it for a second. Her tiara wobbled as it flew threw the air before spinning to a stop only halfway between the two enemies, to the dismay of both Sailor Moon and Luna. He smirked wider as Sailor Moon jumped at him, intent of delivering a powerful kick. A shield flickered between the two, only visible as distorted air, and Usagi bounced of it harshly. She landed with a tumble and rolled into a crouch, charging back in for a sweeping kick.

Wherever she attacked, the shield appeared, sending her flying to Jadeites amusement. She struggled to stand once more, but her leg gave out underneath her and she collapsed to the roof again. Jadeite took the opportunity to advance on the downed girl, smirking maliciously.

Usagi stared up at the man in horror as he advanced, a hand resting on his hip as he stared down at her in barely concealed glee at the situation. Jadeite was barely four metres from Usagi when her rescuer appeared, a rose in full bloom burying its stem into the ground an inch from Jadeite's boot. The blonde man looked in the direction it had appeared and smirked in amusement.

His hand flashed out and a black orb shot at Sailor Moon, impacting her in the chest and knocking her unconscious. A whirlwind of energy burst from the unconscious warriors body and condensed into a large ball in Jadeites hand, before a black vortex opened beside him and sucked both him and the energy in. Tuxedo Mask swore and dived at the vortex, intent on following and defeating the man, but the vortex imploded, leaving Tuxedo Mask behind with a terrified cat and an unconscious blonde.

"Damn it." He swore, turning back to the girl he felt obliged to protect. The cat placed ints paws on the unconscious warriors chest and looked up at him with large brown eyes before speaking.

'She should be all right – he only drained her surface energy. Once she de-transforms she'll recover the energy faster." Luna explained. Tuxedo Mask nodded once and swirled off his cape, covering the girl so she wouldn't get cold.

"I can't stay." He stated, and Luna nodded in acquiescence. "We'll meet again."

"Goodbye. And thank you for protecting her." Luna said to him, and he tipped his top hat for a moment before leaping across the rooftops and disappearing into the darkness. Luna turned back to her warrior and nudged the gold brooch in the centre of the bow on her front. "Moon Prism Override – Alpha Luna. Deactivate."

The blonde glowed for a second before shifting back to her natural form, and Usagi stirred. "What?" She mumbled, sitting up. Black velvet and red satin tumbled to her lap, and she stared in shock at her masked rescuer's cape lying across her. A few feet away, her tiara lay innocently on the ground. Luna nudged her with a cold nose.

"Come on, Usagi. You need to get home and sleep. Jadeite stole all your surface energy – you're running too low now to do any patrolling for the next few days." Luna explained. Usagi nodded in understanding, staggered to her feet and bundling the cape and tiara up and scooping Luna into her arms. She yawned widely before stumbling of in the direction of the stairs, intent on getting home and sleeping for as long as possible.

* * *

In the hospital where Kenji had burst in unannounced and started tearing off the flower brooches the women laying there were still wearing, the first girl sat up with a wide yawn. This creating a flurry of activity as doctors and nurses rushed to her then started copying Kenji's actions. Later, when asked how he knew what was causing the illness, Kenji smiled.

"My wonderful daughter figured it all out after she received her own and almost succumbed!" He boasted.

His daughter at that present time was tucked away in her own bed, sleeping soundly beneath a pink doona and a black velvet cloak, a gold tiara resting on her nightstand as a red gem twinkled in the moonlight.


End file.
